AN APPEAL TO THE LADIES OF HYDERABAD Paperback

An Appeal to the Ladies of Hyderabad: Scandal in the Raj by Benjamin B. Cohen meticulously reconstructs a sensational true story from 19th-century colonial India, detailing the dramatic marriage and downfall of Mehdi Hasan, an ambitious Muslim lawyer, and his Indian-born British wife, Ellen Donnelly. Their rise through Hyderabad's elite society, even leading to an audience with Queen Victoria, was abruptly shattered by a scurrilous anonymous pamphlet—the titular "Appeal to the Ladies of Hyderabad"—accusing them of sexual misconduct and a sham marriage. Drawing on private letters, courtroom transcripts, and secret government reports, Cohen vividly narrates the ensuing trial, exposing the deep-seated racial tensions, gendered expectations, and political machinations that permeated the British Raj and ultimately doomed the Hasans, offering a compelling glimpse into the intimate betrayals and societal fault lines of a bygone era.